Australia approves dumping in Great Barrier reef

[beverley]

Originally Posted by Pelagic

Didn't you guys just recently replace your last mockery of a government?

I remember being told once (about 20 years ago) that the average life-span of an italian govt was 9 months. Maybe the Aussies are out to challenge that record?

[MarkJ]

Originally Posted by GILow

It is heartbreaking and we are getting up to Cairns in a few months so our son can dive on what is left of the reef before it is all totally **** up

Matt

Matt,

I lived in Cairns for 6 years and cruised there just a few years ago. When you get up there, and cruise the rest of the world you will understand the difference between your perception and reality.

Mark

[Pelagic]

To be honest I think it should be called the "Pretty Good Barrier Reef", rather than the The Great!

Direct Storms and constant pounding makes it a so so dive compared to other reefs in PNG or Indonesia.

Sent from my GT-N7000 using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

[44'cruisingcat]

I've been astounded by the lies and misinformation the media has been spouting about this. They've basically been saying that millions of tonnes of mine tailings are going to be dumped directly onto the reef!

People need to look at the maps - Abbott point is a jetty, not a harbour. (And certainly not a mine!) They're shifting some sea bed about 20 km. And not onto the reef.

I think a lot of the concern stems from the fact that the GBRMP extends well beyond the limits of the actual reef. So much of the area under the GBRMPA's jurisdiction Is not in fact coral reef.

[downunder]

Originally Posted by GILow

As an Aussie, I would like to say...I am moving to N.Z. as soon as I can.

It is heartbreaking and we are getting up to Cairns in a few months so our son can dive on what is left of the reef before it is all totally **** up by greed and corruption and the Australian obsession with consumerism and the supposed benefits of digging the whole damn country up and shipping it to China.

----------------------------------------
Matt

You sound like the out of town press pumping up a story. I am sure you will find something to dive on in Cairns and eleswhere on the GBR whenever you visit.

As other have indicated this development is a large offshore jetty and dredging is required for swing room. Not ideal but necessary for our economy.

[Coops]

Not a single mention of it yet on the sailing forum that I am on over here, and we have members living in that area. Seems like another greenie/media beat up.

Coops.

[downunder]

Originally Posted by Pelagic

Didn't you guys just recently replace your last mockery of a government?
Sounds like the greenies are over reacting again as I remember they did with Hamilton and Hinchenbrook.
Disclosure.. I was a friend of Kieth Williams

Thank goodness we did and the majority certainly agreed.

[Factor]

Originally Posted by GILow

As an Aussie, I would like to say...I am moving to N.Z. as soon as I can.

Bye

Originally Posted by Pelagic

To be honest I think it should be called the "Pretty Good Barrier Reef", rather than the The Great! Direct Storms and constant pounding makes it a so so dive compared to other reefs in PNG or Indonesia.

Agree, and indeed all the commentators may not understand that it isn't A reef, its many many many small coral cays and large coral structures, but it is not a contiguous item.

Funny to see Abbot Point and Cairns mentioned in the same sentence, distance between the two is 250 mile rhumb line.

[senormechanico]

Originally Posted by SonjaD

I think most Australians are in shock. Our current leadership is a mockery.

March In March Australia 2014: A national protest as a vote of no confidence in the Abbott Government’s policies | Social Observant

Welcome to the club. The USA citizens are in the same boat, so to speak....

[GILow]

I am not what I would call a greenie, and I well understand the problems with media beat ups and the misinformation that can be disseminated by those that know how to appeal to the knee jerk reactions of our population.

I don't know the merits of this particular project, economic or green, but I do see a continued shift in Australian towards these sorts of projects being approved regardless of the risks they entail, often with the justification that this is somehow essential for our economy.

This is the bit I object to. It is the bottom line of a few companies and individuals that benefit, not our country.

And Mark, I don't understand your comment about my perception and reality. I've been diving at Cairns for over a decade and it is not the same any more. Sure there is better diving elsewhere in the world but it is what we have and it is fading away. From an economic benefit point of view, I wonder what would replace the tourist dollar, as fickle as it can be, should people no longer put the GBR on their list of places to visit in Oz

Matt

[svseachange]

Australia is huge but it can be destroyed a little bit at a time. The beautiful Queensland coast is not indestructible. We need to take care of it.

As a young man I worked on the cotton fields near Moree where my great grandfather once had 10,000 acres in sheep. Us (farm laborerers) were warned not to even touch the water in the irrigated channel because it was so toxic.

Later I worked in an irrigation project south of Townsville where we cleared, ripped and laser-levelled 50,000 acres of woodland, changing the landscape forever. And later on road projects and a 330km pipeline from Daley Waters to the gulf where we let a permanent scars across the landscape.

But one thing I learned along the way is how quickly man can destroy a lot in a little bit at a time. The fast money I earned was spent just as fast, as fast money tends to be.

Sheep, cattle, camel, donkeys, foxes, cats and rabbits have already ravaged huge portions of the interior and native fauna, out of sight, out of mind of the city voters, in the interest of agricultural fortunes long gone.

Are we also going to tolerate the gradual, incremental destruction of our beautiful coastline by the mining moguls in the interest of a fast buck? Are we really too dumb to figure out a smarter way to make money than digging a hole in the ground and spewing waste onto our pristine coastline?


Sent from my GT-P3113 using Tapatalk

[Factor]

Originally Posted by SonjaD

I think most Australians are in shock. Our current leadership is a mockery.

Just a point for our international observers. the media and others here often talk about electing Tony Abbott, Kevin Rudd, Julia Gillard, Neville Nobody as Prime Minister, this is a furphy, it cannot happen. Australia does not elect a Prime Minister in any fashion let alone the same way the US elects a President. We vote, the parliament members are elected, the group with the most numbers forms a government, the parliamentarians elect a leader, he/she is the prime minister. On any given day that group can choose a new leader.

I am always amused by the fixation on leadership, the Prime Minister has no legal power, none, zip. In fact the term Prime Minister is not even mentioned in our constitution. Anywhere.

[cwjohm]

What you have to appreciate is that 15% of Australians are greens who buy Toyotas from Korea, TVs from China, and peaches from the Phillipines, and then they groan that we do not have local industry and rely pretty much on mining for our prosperity.

Fortunately, most Australians understand the reality. In fact contrary to what was previously stated we have the most stable political system in the world with Australians voting mostly for two major parties with little to split them politically in comparison to most other countries.

As far as Abbott point is concerned it went through 4 years of analysis and was supported by both sides of politics.

Considerable damage was caused to the reef from the floods of two years ago unfortunately. Unfortunately the science of this event has become entangled with dredging at Abbott point.

As to those who want to continually winge I would suggest that you get on a plane and look at the rest of the world, and on your return you will thank god that you live in a place where we have a good balance between care for the environment and maintenance of our standard of living.

[Coops]

All this "this government is a mockery" is just so pointless. If the party that you vote for does not get in then this one is a mockery. If yours gets in next time then the other side say the same thing. Politics, and the discussion of same, is probably the most boring subject that I have ever come across. Now you have me discussing it. Bugger, it's insiduous stuff, like creeping death.

Coops.

[Pelagic]

Trying to remember... Is voting in Australia mandatory ?

Sent from my GT-N7000 using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app